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White House Approving Disaster Funds Without Telling FEMA; Trump: Putin Says He Will Respond to Ukraine's Drone Attacks; High School Volleyball Team Dedicates Game to Teen Held in ICE Custody; Trump Administration Rescinds Guidance Over Emergency Abortion Access. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 04, 2025 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're now four days into hurricane season and sources say there is mounting turmoil inside FEMA, along with rising concerns about whether the agency is ready to handle a major disaster. Insiders tell CNN the White House is approving FEMA disaster relief without actually notifying FEMA, which is leading to delays and confusion. And it's not just a process problem at FEMA, but also apparently a people issue.

Sources say that experienced senior leaders are leaving and that morale at the agency is now low, which the Trump administration sort of wants. They want to eliminate FEMA as it exists today.

CNN's Gabe Cohen is here with the details. So, Gabe, what are you learning?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, Boris, let's first rewind back to April. That's when President Trump approved a disaster declaration, millions of dollars in assistance for the state of Virginia as they were dealing with this winter flooding.

We know that the White House notified Governor Glenn Youngkin. He put out a press release. We saw local news outlets start covering that help was on the way.

But you know who wasn't notified at the time? FEMA, the agency that actually delivers that assistance. I am told by sources that leaders there at the agency learned about this from those local news stories. And it took four, more than four days for the agency to get an official word from the White House about that approval, which meant there was a delay of several days in actually getting that money out to some of those hard-hit communities.

Then, in May, the president approved disaster assistance for Arkansas. After Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had publicly lobbied the president, asked him for help dealing with recent tornadoes.

But once again, FEMA didn't get notified right away. It took five days for the agency to learn about this. And again, that caused a delay in getting money out the door. And I am told that this is extremely odd, that usually FEMA is a

really integral part of this process, that they learn about these declarations typically in a matter of minutes or hours because they have to get the ball rolling on getting money out to those hard-hit communities.

One FEMA official told me a five-day lag is unheard of as it prevents FEMA from fulfilling its statutory roles. It feels like a way to make it look like FEMA is being slow when we are not yet authorized to act.

And look, Boris, this breakdown in communication, it really feels indicative of this increasingly fractured relationship that we're seeing between the Trump administration and FEMA, which, as you mentioned, Trump officials still vowing that they are going to eliminate this agency, at least as it exists today.

But it's particularly alarming because, as you said, hurricane season is underway and this is an agency that is already dealing with immense turmoil, job cuts, plummeting morale, and really a lack of direction. And if you want a clear indication of the turmoil happening behind the scenes.

We've obtained text from this e-mail that was sent out by FEMA's former second-in-command, a longtime highly respected leader at the agency, who resigned last month and sent this note to her team saying, Everyone has a line and I have reached mine. I will not be complicit in the dismantling of this agency, and while I would readily implement change, even radical change, the current approach lacks a clear end state or plan and has been done recklessly without regard to our current statutory or moral obligations to the American people. I also will not be part of the intentional traumatization of our workforce.

You can see pretty powerful words there in that official, one of more than a dozen important, critical senior leaders who have left the agency recently, and the ones who are left behind, Boris, they're going to have a tall task as storm season gets underway.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for the reporting -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Turning now to breaking news, President Trump revealing just a short time ago he spoke today with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than an hour. The president saying that Putin, quote, very strongly told him Russia will be responding to Ukraine's recent drone attacks inside Russia. Trump says the two also discussed Iran.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us this hour. So, Kristen, what more are we learning about what was discussed on this call?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Erica, so Donald Trump saying that this phone call lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. And just a little context here, we had been talking to White House officials about what they hoped was going to come out of the talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this week. They said that they were just happy that the two were at the table, but no real details from this call on what exactly was going to happen between Russia and Ukraine, other than it seems like it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

As you noted, Putin saying very strongly to Trump -- those are Trump's terms -- that he's going to retaliate, that he has to answer for what happened, those drone attacks on Russia, on their airfield.

So clearly there, there is not imminent peace in any way, something that we had been hearing from sides but has not been directly articulated by Donald Trump.

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He has obviously said that he still believes Putin wanted peace, and he was going to give another assessment of that after the two sides talked, but he hasn't yet.

Now on Iran, this is interesting because it's a completely separate deal. We obviously know that the Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, gave a new proposal to Iran over the weekend.

Now Donald Trump is essentially saying that he's going to enlist Putin in these talks. I do want to read this to you. It says, let me find it right here.

It says, We discussed Iran and the fact that time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly. He goes on to say, I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and on this I believe that we were in agreement. President Putin suggested he will participate in the discussions with Iran, and that he could perhaps be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.

This obviously being very interesting, that now Putin seems to be at least using this as leverage in his dealings with Donald Trump, who wants to make a deal with Iran.

One thing to keep in mind here is that while this Ukraine-Russia war has been going on, we have seen somewhat more of a thicker alliance between Russia and Iran develop. So that was clearly something Vladimir Putin was pitching to Trump on this call, that he could be helpful to him in this way but getting answers actually on where things stand with Russia and Ukraine, it sounds like they are nowhere near being able to meet for some sort of a peace deal.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. And some comments from earlier today from President Zelenskyy at a news conference. He keeps saying, he says it would be pointless to continue diplomatic meetings at a level that doesn't resolve anything.

Calling for direct talks again with Putin. We'll see what comes out of all this. Kristen, really appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

A community meantime in Massachusetts rallying behind a high schooler who was detained by ICE. The latest is next. [13:40:00]

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HILL: Taking a look now at some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. The family of the Boulder, Colorado attack suspect is now in custody and they are facing an expedited removal from the U.S. Their visas have already been revoked. A law enforcement source telling CNN officials plan to transfer the suspect's wife and five children to an immigration detention facility in Texas where they will then face expulsion proceedings.

As for the suspect, he is set to appear -- expected to appear in court tomorrow. He is facing a number of state charges in addition to that federal hate crime charge.

A case that has captivated Australia. Erin Patterson, she's the woman who's accused of deliberately adding lethal mushrooms to food that ultimately killed three people including her in-laws. Well, she says now she accepts the fatal meal did include the deadly mushroom. She claims, though, they got in there by accident.

Patterson says she added mushrooms to the Beef Wellington lunch because she thought it tasted bland but didn't realize the mushrooms themselves were toxic. Patterson is facing three charges of murder and the attempted murder of a fourth guest. She has denied the charges.

And the FBI arresting a man linked to the car bomb detonation at a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic last month. Daniel Park is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist shipping approximately 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Guy Edward Bartkus who is the suspect who died in that bombing. Park was arrested last night at JFK Airport in New York. He's expected to make his first court appearance later today -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Students at a high school in Massachusetts are rallying for their classmate. 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes Da Silva who remains in ICE custody after federal agents arrested him over the weekend during a traffic stop. He was on his way to volleyball practice with his teammates but officials say the high school junior who is originally from Brazil is here illegally.

Last night his volleyball team dedicated their home playoff game to their detained teammate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENN PEZZA, STUDENT: He showed up for it, you know. And I think he'd be glad that people know what's happening, people want the best for him.

COLIN GRECO, MARCELO'S TEAMMATE: We've definitely been doing a lot of praying. Group prayers, individual prayers, writing prayers on our shirts.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now with more details.

And Polo, a federal judge ordered a hold on the teen's case that would prevent immigration officials from transferring him out of state. But that is about to expire. So what happens next?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Boris, in the last few hours taking a look at the docket of his immigration case and it seems that there is this ongoing back and forth between legal representatives of the U.S. government and Marcelo's attorneys to try to keep him in Massachusetts as a judge had previously ordered. You mentioned that that was issued just a couple of days ago.

In the meantime in that community the calls to release him from ICE custody have really only grown louder in part because of what you just showed our viewers, that game from last night in which Marcelo Gomes Da Silva was supposed to play, however, was absent.

So you see that sea of white, a symbolic gesture by students from both teams showing their support for the 18-year-old because technically he would be considered an adult. There are very real concerns in the small Massachusetts community that he could not only not be released from custody at a bond hearing scheduled for tomorrow, but that he could potentially be fast-tracked towards deportation to his native Brazil.

Now DHS maintaining that though he was not the intended target of their immigration enforcement action on Saturday, that the 18-year-old is in the country illegally and because of that he was detained and processed for removal.

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Now his attorney, on the other hand, maintains that he has very deep roots in the community, that he initially traveled to the United States well over 10 years ago on a valid tourist visa that eventually was also a student visa as well that he was able to benefit from, however, that had expired.

So really this conversation and this legal battle that is ongoing right now that's narrowly focused on this 18-year-old. Yet another example of the Trump administration really widening their scope to include non-violent individuals as well.

SANCHEZ: Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for the update there.

We're going to have more on President Trump's immigration crackdown coming up, including a new effort to track down underage migrants. So far it's resulted in hundreds of kids being removed from their homes and placed in a government custody.

The administration claims it's carrying out welfare checks, but some within the FBI tell CNN they're concerned the children are being used as pawns to draw out relatives who officials otherwise have no reason to investigate. Also ahead in the show, a leading group of doctors say that President

Trump's latest abortion action will put women's lives in danger. We'll be joined by an OB-GYN next.

[13:50:00]

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HILL: Hospitals will no longer be required to provide emergency abortions after the Trump administration rolled back Biden-era guidance, raising new questions for providers. So this new guidance is only for hospitals that receive Medicare money, but it's important to note that's nearly every hospital in the U.S.

So as a reminder here, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the Biden administration then clarified an existing law, which is known as EMTALA. That covers emergency medical care, to note that it allowed for abortions in the case of a medical emergency.

Dr. Nisha Verma joins me now. She's a senior advisor for reproductive health policy and advocacy at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.

Doctor, it's good to have you with us. So what is your understanding of the law as it stands right now? Is it legal for a physician to perform an abortion in the case of a medical emergency?

DR. NISHA VERMA, ACOG'S SENIOR ADVISER OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH POLICY AND ADVOCACY: Thank you for having me today. So I think it's important to note that EMTALA law still remains in effect.

But I do think that the Biden administration's letter and guidance providing that extra assurance and protection for doctors who needed to provide abortion care in emergencies in states with the strictest abortion laws, that guidance was really helpful. And without it, we have more of the chilling effect, more confusion.

We do have situations where there are state laws that are even stricter than the provisions that EMTALA provides. So laws that say in an emergency situation, they really just have exceptions for the life, not even the health of the mother.

And so it can be really unclear to doctors when they can intervene in some of these emergency situations. And EMTALA is incredibly important in providing that extra support.

HILL: Well, to that point, I remember the conversations about, frankly, how close a pregnant person has to be to death, right? And almost, it sounds so callous, but what is the checklist there for a provider to know whether it actually constitutes an emergency? Are you saying we're back at that point?

VERMA: I mean, we've been at that point, right? That's what these laws do. When you try to legislate the practice of medicine, it creates these really confusing situations where it's unclear to doctors when they can intervene and how sick a patient needs to be. Medicine is incredibly individual, right? That's why we go to years and years and years of school and training to be able to provide this evidence-based care to our patients because each situation is complex and individual, and there's no way for laws to take all of that into account. That's why doctors and hospitals and patients are navigating these impossible situations.

And I do think that rescinding the guidance on EMTALA is going to make these impossible situations even harder.

HILL: Is the priority in these situations, is it your understanding, is it the fetus or is it the patient?

VERMA: I'm going to walk through, you know, an example situation because I think it's one thing to talk about it in the abstract, but I think it can be helpful to make it a little bit more concrete. So, for example, a situation that we see fairly commonly is a patient who presents in the first or second trimester with heavy vaginal bleeding. And in those situations, their cervix might be opening, they're in the process of having a miscarriage, but cardiac activity or that heartbeat of the pregnancy is still present.

And with these really strict abortion laws, they raise the question of when the doctor can intervene and assist in removing the pregnancy to stop the bleeding and decrease the risk to the pregnant person. EMTALA then provides some extra support in these situations for intervention.

But I do want to highlight, when you ask about who we are prioritizing, when we're making these decisions, we're really centering the patient's values and their needs.

Our goal as doctors, our role is to provide all of the evidence-based options and then allow patients and their families to choose the right options for them.

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So I've had patients experiencing incredibly risky pregnancies who say we talk about all of the options and they say, I think that I want to take on this risk. I want to do expectant management and supportive care and see what happens. And we say, OK, we are going to do that. We're going to try to keep you and your pregnancy as safe as possible.

I've also had patients experiencing incredibly risky pregnancy complications who say, after we talk about all of the options, they say that risk of continuing the pregnancy is too high. I need to be around for my existing children, my family. That risk is just too high and an abortion is the right option.

But the important thing here is that it is up to people and their families. What the law is doing is it's taking those really personal determinations of acceptable risk away from people and allowing the government to decide what level of risk is too much risk.

HILL: Dr. Nisha Verma, really appreciate you joining us this afternoon. Thank you. VERMA: Thank you so much for having me.

HILL: Up next here, Elon Musk unloading on President Trump's sweeping budget and tax reform bill. Is the billionaire megadonor also swaying lawmakers with his latest tweets?

Plus, President Trump speaks to Vladimir Putin on the phone. He says the Russian leader is now vowing to strike back after Ukraine's weekend attack. That's next.

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